The lyrics are a product of the show. The source material clearly doesn't highlight the best America has to offer, but I wouldn't find those lyrics any more inappropriate than, say, "TiVo now thinks I'm gay" in "Couch Potato," since that too was referencing an actual event. Not to get off-topic here, but thinking about it now, the "Touched By an Uncle" line seems atypically and distractingly dark for an Al song.

anthontherun wrote:The lyrics are a product of the show. The source material clearly doesn't highlight the best America has to offer, but I wouldn't find those lyrics any more inappropriate than, say, "TiVo now thinks I'm gay" in "Couch Potato," since that too was referencing an actual event. Not to get off-topic here, but thinking about it now, the "Touched By an Uncle" line seems atypically and distractingly dark for an Al song.

Poodle Hat was my first Weird Al-bum when I was 12 and that joke thankfully went over my head then but now it disturbs me.

Also the Richard Simmons/King of Queens line kind of bothers me because Simmons has never publicly discussed his sexuality.

JohnnyLurg wrote:Do you think "Jerry Springer" could be interpreted as transphobic or transmisogynistic nowadays because of the usage of the terms "shemale" and "drag queen?"

Not necessarily.

"Shemale" refers to a specific type of person falling under the trans* umbrella-- someone who has male genitals, but who has secondary female features such as breasts. A drag queen/transvestite is someone who dresses as someone of the opposite sex. A transvestite/drag queen may or may not be transgender. The contexts in which one uses these terms (not the terms themselves) determine whether or not they are offensive.

(Source: Having a couple of transgender friends and being an ally of a gay-straight alliance while attending college.)

I seriously doubt that Al has a transphobic cell in his body (with his support of the NOH8 campaign, his donations of proceeds from "Perform This Way" to the Human Rights Campaign, and his one-on-one work with Wendy Carlos for Peter and the Wolf.)

No idea if I've said this before but a really good friend of mine's dad is actually friends with Kevin Hearn, the keyboardist for BNL and I think about that everytime I listen to Jerry Springer or any BNL stuff. They're one of my favorite bands haha